Alipay Gets Access to French Merchant Network

Alipay is set to get a boost in Europe with a new agreement between parent company Ant Financial and France-based Ingenico. The companies have struck a deal making Alipay compatible as a payment option with Ingenico’s offline merchant network in Europe, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The deal represents an opportunity for Alipay to substantially extend its reach beyond its home market of China, an ambition that was evidenced earlier this year when Alipay extended a domestic partnership with Uber that would bring the mPayment option to users of the ride-hailing service in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. More recently, Alipay and Samsung announced a partnership that would integrate Alipay as a payment option into the Samsung Pay app, subtly expanding the brand’s presence in mPayments.

Now, the Ingenico deal should raise its profile in Europe, where the other major mPayment platforms, most notably Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, have also been racing to launch. While those latter platforms arguably dominate the mPayment market right now, Alipay may pose a considerable threat, given its financial strength; The Wall Street Journal reports that Ant Financial currently has a valuation of about $60 billion, and that represents a lot of weight to be thrown around should it compete aggressively in the global mPayment market.

Source: The Wall Street Journal